Here’s the next installment of Ashley’s year in review. This time it’s news and features.
Like I said in my last post, it’s impossible to rank the “top 10” photos from all of the work I’ve done in 2012, so I’m just sharing some of my favorite assignments.
The majority of what I shoot is sports (that post will come a week from today), but I am a photojournalist after all, so I cover quite a bit of news and feature stories. The best thing about my job is that I could be photographing a construction site one minute, and half an hour later I could be on the red carpet, then I might cover a fire on the way home. My days vary so much, and I love that!
Here are 10 of my favorite non-sports assignments from 2012.
Back in February I spent the afternoon with Keridwyn Hershberger of Devonshire Incense and Soap Company in Smithville for the Houston Chronicle. Besides getting the opportunity to hang out with a really great lady, the light in her shop made it easy for me to get nice pictures. (Click here to see my original post)
I don’t know if these necessarily fit for best pictures of the year, but the assignment was definitely one of the highlights for me. I got Jack Black all to myself for a quick photo shoot for the Houston Chronicle. Matthew McConaughey and Richard Linklater were there too, but I didn’t get but a few seconds with them. All three of them were in Austin promoting their movie – Bernie – during SXSW. (Click here to view the original post.)
I hadn’t shot the first day of school in years, so it was kind of fun for me to feel the excitement and anxiety of kindergarteners making their way to their classrooms. It was an emotional morning for everyone at Fuentes Elementary School in Kyle. (Click here to view the original post.)
Pam LeBlanc, the Statesman’s fitness writer, tried pole vaulting for the first time, right before the 2012 summer Olympics. I was happy to photograph her as she did so. She was actually pretty good, and she may have a back up plan if this whole reporting thing doesn’t work out. (Click here to view the original post.)
I’m counting this one as news and features, rather than sports, because, well, it’s a gray enough area for me to justify putting it here and leaving more space for sports action.
You can’t get more Austin, TX than two-stepping at the Broken Spoke. The Statesman sent me there to capture three of the best boot scooters in action. Hunter Magness, Larry Vanston and Joel Gamage were so much fun to photograph! (Click here to view the original post.)
Unfortunately part of being a journalist is covering the sad stories. It’s not all celebrities and dance halls. When it came time to say goodbye to a local soldier, I was there to cover it. SPC Payton Alexander Jones, 19, was killed in Afghanistan and family and friends gathered at his high school for a funeral service. The media wasn’t allowed inside, so I had to try to find other ways of covering this story. This assignment reminded me to always be creative, always stop on the side of the road if I see a picture, and never be too focused on what’s in front of me because sometimes the best moments happen behind my back. (Click here to view the original post.)
Often there are events that are so visual, photographers just show up, whether or not they’re being paid. That’s what I did when I heard about the Gorilla Run in down town Austin. Little did I know that a handful of my photographer friends would show up too! We can’t resist a bunch of overgrown monkeys running through down town. (Click here to view original post.)
Olympic silver medalist track star Leo Manzano came home from London to a hero’s welcome. I was there in Dripping Springs when a high school auditorium full of people cheered him home. I’m a huge fan of the Olympics, and no matter how many times I do it, meeting a real live Olympian is always an exciting moment for me. (Click here to view the original post.)
We’re also not going to count this as a sports story….
I shot the BET Showcase at SXSW this year. It was my first year to do that. It was crazy, loud, sweaty, and I was completely exhausted afterwards, but I got some pretty good photos out of it. (Click here to see the original post.)
I’ve gone on and on about how great they are, but I genuinely enjoyed my time photographing them. I hope they’re getting the help they deserve. Tim and his daughter Aubrey both have Marfan’s Syndrome, a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. It also causes heart problems, and most people who have it are tall and thin. Suzanne, Tim’s wife and Aubrey’s mom, does not have the syndrome, but she has to pick up the slack and take care of both her husband and daughter. (Click here to view the original story.)
There you have it, 10 stories that stuck out during 2012. There are so many more, so if you’re craving photos, go to my blog home page and click through some posts.
Next up is 2012 – Sports….if I can ever sort through that many pictures…